Parting Ways
by Blade of Memories
Summary: To prove to Kikyo how much he loves her, Inuyasha betrays his companions by destroying Kaede's village. Kagome now hates Inuyasha and starts having feelings for someone else. Inuyasha, realizing his wrongdoing, hates himself and feels completely alone.
1. Village in Ruins

**Parting Ways**

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_Chapter 1: Village in Ruins_

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Kagome sighed as she worked on her test. She rarely spent time in her own world anymore because of all the time she spent fighting demons in Inuyasha's world. Everything changed since she first fell into the Bone Eater's well. She barely had time to study anymore. Letting out another sigh of frustration, she completed the test to the best of her ability and handed it to her teacher.

After a few minutes of resting her head on her desk, Kagome heard the bell ring. "Okay class, you are free to go!" the teacher announced. The rest of the students rushed out of the classroom enthusiastically, while Kagome slowly put her binder and pencil back into her backpack.

Kagome's teacher walked up to her as Kagome got out of her seat. "Kagome, I'm worried about your grade. You're rarely in school anymore so you're never prepared for tests. On top of that, there's a lot of schoolwork you owe me."

Kagome gave her teacher a small smile. "Yeah… but there's nothing I can do about my constant illnesses. I'll try to do what I can while I'm at home. It's just that I'm always suffering from migraines and whatnot."

Kagome's teacher nodded her head. "Try your best, Kagome."

Kagome walked out of the room, feeling guilty. She had to always lie to her friends and teachers about why she missed so much school. But she had to do it. There was no way she could tell them that she was fighting demons in another world. She couldn't say that she was traveling with a monk, demon slayer and half-demon.

It felt like it took forever for Kagome to reach home. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to rest. She knew that on the other side of the well was an impatient half-demon who would come after her if she didn't go there soon. As soon as she walked through the door, Kagome started to prepare a bag full of supplies.

"Mom, I'm going now!" she said after a few minutes, opening the front door.

"Okay, be careful!" her mother replied from the kitchen.

At that moment, Kagome's little brother Souta ran downstairs. "Hey sis, tell Inuyasha I said hi! Make sure he comes and visits, okay?"

Kagome smiled. "Okay Souta, it's a promise. Well I'm off! Take care of Grandpa, okay?"

With that, she walked out the door and toward the Bone Eater's well. When she got there, she took a deep breath and jumped in. A flash of blue light followed.

~.~.~

What Kagome saw and what she expected to see upon exiting the forest near Kaede's village were two completely different things.

She had expected to see a peaceful village with little children running around. She had expected to see villagers working. She had expected to see merchants selling fruits and vegetables.

However…

She gasped. The entire village was destroyed. Sango the demon slayer, Miroku the monk, and Shippo the fox demon were all lying down near Kaede's destroyed house, injured. Kagome ran up to her hurt companions. "What happened?!" she yelled.

"Inu...yasha...he...destroyed the village." Miroku replied. "Who would have thought…?"

"He got me scared...he was grinning… like he enjoyed what he was doing…" Shippo added.

"Wha… what?!" shouted Kagome. She felt a mixture of emotions as she looked at her surroundings. She felt sad, angry, confused and betrayed. _'Why... why would he do this? I can't believe this! Where is he now?! _

"SIT, BOY!" she yelled as loud as she could into the sky, hoping that the beads around Inuyasha's neck would catch her words and subdue him.

She was fortunate. A loud thud was heard in the distance. She ran as quickly as she could in that direction, hoping that all of this was just a misunderstanding of some sort and Inuyasha was innocent. Soon enough, she arrived at the spot where none other than Inuyasha lay with his face in the ground.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Well, well… Kagome Higurashi... Keh. That was a powerful 'sit' command, ya know. You managed to break the beads around my neck!" he snickered. "I'm free from you at last!"

"The… the beads… Inuyasha, this isn't like you! What happened? What is going on?" Kagome asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Well, if you really want to know… Kikyo wanted me to prove how much I care for her and told me to destroy the village." he said matter-of-factly. "So I did."

Inuyasha smirked at Kagome as she fell to her knees and started to cry. He didn't bother sticking around and ran off to find Kikyo.

"Inuyasha... this _is_ like you. Listening to Kikyo... I'm only second best, of course."

"Excuse me miss, is something wrong?"

Kagome looked up to see an unfamiliar black-haired man with a sword at his side. "I'm… I'm okay…"

"It sure doesn't look like it," said the stranger.

"I'm fine, really…" Kagome insisted.

"Then why are you crying while mentioning someone named 'Inuyasha'? Come to think of it, wasn't he the half-demon who was pinned to the Goshinboku tree by a priestess names Kikyo?" he asked.

The mention of Kikyo's name made Kagome cry harder, and she decided that she might as well explain everything and let it all out. So she did. She also explained her journey with her companions to find the missing Shikon jewel shards. The stranger seemed rather interested in the story. By the time she was done, Kagome had stopped crying.

"Oh, I see. So you're in love with this Inuyasha," said the man.

Kagome's face turned red. "I never said that!"

"But he doesn't love you back?" the stranger asked, ignoring Kagome's statement.

"I never said I loved him!" Kagome repeated.

"And he destroyed this whole village... at the demand of Kikyo, the one he loves."

Kagome went silent after hearing that and looked at the ground. Tears started to well up in her eyes again. The man started to panic. "Oh, I'm sorry! Um… hey, forget about Inuyasha. I'll help you find Shikon jewel shards in his place."

Kagome looked up at him. "Really? You will?"

"Sure!" the man said. He smiled. "My name is Bakura. What's yours?"

"I'm… I'm Kagome."

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**Sorry about it being short, but I already have this entire story planned out so you can expect frequent updates. Please review! It lets me know how I'm doing and gives me the inspiration to continue working.**


	2. Dark Iron Reaver

**Parting Ways  


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_Chapter 2: Dark Iron Reaver_

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_'I have heard about the priestess Kikyo. She wouldn't demand someone to destroy her old village. I also heard that she is really_ _dead, and roams along with the living. This is hard to believe. But I cannot disagree to this beautiful young lady. She sounded so_ _trusting…' _Bakura thought. He, with Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo, had already gone on without Inuyasha to continue their quest to look for the missing jewel shards. But there was bad news.

It appeared Inuyasha had stolen all of their jewel shards. This meant that they would have to battle him soon enough in order to get the shards back.

But there was a problem... Kagome was originally going to give the jewel to Inuyasha. She had promised him.

_'That idiot doesn't matter anymore…' _she thought both coldly and sadly. Inuyasha had some of the shards... this was going to be difficult.

~.~.~

_'I've done it. Now I will return to Kikyo.' _

Inuyasha looked up to see some of Kikyo's soul collectors. He ran through the forest and eventually into a clearing in which he saw Kikyo standing.

"Kikyo, my job is done. I hope I have proved myself worthy to you," he said.

"Well done Inuyasha. Now, I have another task for you," Kikyo replied without any emotion.

"What is it? I'll do it!" said Inuyasha, eager to prove himself further.

"You must destroy your friends…"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. _'Destroy... my friends!'_

"Especially my reincarnation… this will prove how much you truly love me. I have to make sure you haven't fallen in love with my copy, after all. Like I said, destroy all your friends."

"Wha-? Destroy them? How could I do that?"

At that moment, Inuyasha felt funny. In a moment, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He yelled as he fell to his knees. The pain started to rise and it reached his chest. He clutched his chest as a dark aura surrounded him.

"What's… going… on?" he murmured.

Slowly, dark energy started to pour out of his chest. Inuyasha looked in horror as the energy continued to flow from his body. Eventually the pain subsided and the dark energy was floating around him.

Kikyo's eyes were wide. "On second thought, you have proven yourself worthy enough. Come with me... to hell." She grabbed Inuyasha's arm and light surrounded them.

_'What just happened...? Well, whatever it was, this is it… I'm going to hell with Kikyo, so we can be together… W-wait! I don't want this! Kikyo once tried to kill Kagome! Tried to kill… Kagome… Kagome…'_

"Kagome!" he pushed Kikyo away. "Kikyo... you bitch! You possessed me! But why?" he asked.

Kikyo stared at him. Suddenly, her eyes widened as dark energy started pouring out of her as well. "Hatred... of my copy… of Kagome. It has gotten the better of me. It brought darkness over me. And my darkness spread to you…"

Inuyasha was shocked. "Hatred of Kagome? Darkness?"

"I don't completely understand it myself… But none of that matters! Inuyasha! Come to hell with me!"

The dark energy gathered and poured into the tip of Kikyo's arrow and she aimed her bow at Inuyasha. "This arrow will kill you, and send you to hell! Then you and I will be in hell together!"

"Dammit!"

"You DO care for my copy more, don't you? You shouted her name earlier, after all. Is that what stopped you from going to hell with me? Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore! Die, Inuyasha!"

_~Flashback~_

_Inuyasha was standing peacefully when arrows were shot to the tree next to him. He looked ahead of him and saw Kikyo, aiming an arrow at him._

_"Die, Inuyasha!"_

_Inuyasha managed to escape from her. Feeling betrayed he stole the Shikon jewel. No longer wishing to keep his promise of becoming human, he had his original goal in mind. He wanted to become a full demon._

_"Finally, I can become a full demon at last!"_

_"Inuyasha!"_

_Then Inuyasha heard an arrow zoom at him, and it pinned him to the Goshinboku. He saw Kikyo standing there with her bow._

_"Ki-Kikyo... But... I thought... We... "_

_~End Flashback~_

"I guess our relationship ended there, didn't it…? Although it was Naraku's fault…" Inuyasha murmured.

Kikyo released the arrow. Inuyasha stared at the arrow as it came toward him. "I guess it's finally time to send Kikyo back to the dead…"

He quickly dodged the arrow, but it turned around and followed him. It continued to follow him as he continued to dodge. "That dark energy turned the arrow into a homing missile...!"

After dodging it a few more times, Inuyasha ran towards the arrow and grabbed it. He winced as the dark energy burned his hand. He then ran toward Kikyo, and stabbed the arrow into her. She screamed.

Loudly.

~.~.~

Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara and Bakura were all walking on a mountain path near the destroyed village when they heard the scream. Kagome was stunned. "That sounded like Kikyo!"

Miroku glanced in the direction of the forest. "It came from the woods."

Kagome, remembering recent events, suddenly felt her hatred return. "Forget it! Let's go."

"I don't know... something's up. I thought Inu..." Sango trailed off, deciding not to bring up Inuyasha in front of Kagome. "Uh, yeah, let's go."

~.~.~

Inuyasha felt great waves of energy radiating from the arrow. But it wasn't enough to defeat Kikyo, it seemed. _'I need more strength if I want to destroy Kikyo...'_

Then he remembered the dark energy that had exited his body earlier. It was still floating around in the same area. _'If I can manipulate that dark energy like Kikyo did, and pour the energy into my claws…'_

He put his claws into the mass of dark energy. The energy began to gather and pour into his claws. After a few seconds, Inuyasha faced an injured Kikyo, who had an arrow stuck into her chest.

Inuyasha snickered. "Well Kikyo... I should have accepted the fact that you were dead a long time ago… You can go to rest now." He posed, ready to strike.

"GOOD-BYE KIKYO! DARK IRON REAVER!"

His claws began to radiate an insane amount of energy as he ran forward. He slashed Kikyo, and she screamed as she was ripped into shreds. The dark energy began consuming what was left of her.

"That's the end of her…"

~.~.~

They heard it. His voice, it came from the woods.

Silence. Complete silence. Nobody spoke. Bakura was the one to break the silence. "What just happened?"

Sango looked at him. "I-Inuyasha... and... Kikyo..."

Kagome was stunned to say the least. _'Did we just hear that? Inuyasha's voice...'_

She looked down at the ground.

_'Good-bye? Kikyo screaming in pain? Did he kill Kikyo? Why? Hey… why should I care? Bakura is much nicer than Inuyasha. Why should I care about what Inuyasha gets into? He destroyed the village…'_

After a few more seconds, Miroku spoke. "Let's... um... continue. But let's stay closer to the village just in case... um... anything eventful might happen."

~.~.~

Inuyasha stood there panting. He had finally put Kikyo to rest. It was about damn time he came to his senses and did the right thing…

After catching his breath, he started walking toward an unknown destination.

'_Kagome…'_

How could he have been so foolish? He could have been happy with Kagome. No Kikyo getting in the way. He loved Kagome. And he knew it. _'Dammit, Kikyo! Why? Why did_ _I destroy the village just because you told me to? Stupid darkness! Dammit!'_

Before he realized it, he was standing in front of a grave. It belonged to his mother. He lay before it. "Mother..."

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! It lets me know how I'm doing and gives me the inspiration to continue. The more reviews I get, the faster I update.**


	3. Outcast

**Parting Ways  
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**_Chapter 3: Outcast_**  


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The gang continued heading in an unknown direction, hoping to find any Shikon jewel shards. After a while, Kagome sighed. "I'm tired."

"Kirara!" Sango called. Her fire demon cat transformed. Kirara was now big enough to carry a couple of people.

Sango and Kagome got on Kirara, and Shippo hopped onto Kagome's shoulder. Kirara growled softly and took off.

"Hey!" shouted Miroku. "What about Bakura and me?"

"Yeah what about us?" asked Bakura.

"Boys have to travel by foot, girls get the luxury!" Sango yelled with her fist in the air. The boys rolled their eyes and sighed.

Eventually they neared a farm full of herbs. Kirara landed and the others, deciding to take advantage of this opportunity, gathered as many herbs as they could.

After a while, Kagome accidentally tripped on a root and Bakura managed to catch her.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" he asked sincerely.

Kagome blushed as she looked up at his handsome face. "I'm fine thank you."

They smiled at each other. Kagome was happy that she knew Bakura, because even though they just met each other, he was kind and understanding and made her feel happy… unlike someone else she knew.

As they shared their moment, the others finished collecting herbs and they found a place to rest for the night.

~.~.~

"Mother... I wish you were still alive…" said Inuyasha, quietly.

"I'm alone… I had friends but I did the wrong thing. Now I have to pay the price." Inuyasha looked at the ground, the dog ears on his head flattened against his skull.

"I'm alone… No one to be friends with, laugh with… Nobody to love… was foolish." Inuyasha didn't notice, but tears began to stream along his cheeks. It was the first time he cried for a very, very long time.

~.~.~

The next day, the girls decided to walk with the boys. Therefore, Kirara had transformed back into a small cat.

"Come on! Let's just keep running ahead until we find jewel shards!" Shippo yelled.

Kagome sighed. "We need to conserve our energy Shippo..."

"It's odd though," said Miroku. "Normally we never have this much trouble finding jewel shards. We should have found one by now…"

"There probably aren't a lot left," said Bakura. "A lot of demons are looking for them, after all."

At that moment, they heard a fearsome roar. They looked around, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, the ground shook and something came rose to the surface. It was a blue serpent demon, and a pretty scary-looking one at that.

It opened its mouth, revealing its razor-sharp teeth, and released a numerous amount energy waves from it, which hit Kirara and cut her into pieces.

"KIRARA!" Sango yelled as Kirara's blood flew everywhere.

Bakura moved forth. "A serpent demon..."

Kagome held onto Bakura. "Kirara… no…"

The serpent demon approached them. Kagome could tell that it was far too strong for them. Its thick skin was infused with powerful demonic energy that her even her miko powers could not purify.

"I can take on this demon!" Bakura said. He drew his sword and got into a stance.

"No, Bakura... I will! FOR KIRARA!" Sango yelled loudly.

~.~.~

Inuyasha had left the graveyard after a while, deciding to wander aimlessly until he came across anything interesting. He, unknowingly, entered an area that was close to the one the others were in.

When Sango yelled, his sensitive ears were able to pick it up. _'Why is she yelling Kirara's name like that? Are they in a battle?'_

He decided to check it out and started running in that direction.

~.~.~

Sango had tears streaming down her eyes. "HIRAIKOTSU!" she yelled as she threw her giant boomerang. The serpent demon knocked it aside.

Miroku would have normally helped Sango battle the demon, but he felt that at least for now he should let her fight this battle on her own… Kirara was her cat, after all, and now… she was in pieces…

However, it seemed that the owner of a rather familiar voice didn't think the way Miroku did. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

The demon barely dodged the attack. Inuyasha scowled. "Hey, you ugly snake! Pick on someone who can put up a fight! Leave these guys alone!"

"As if _he_ cares about us!" said Shippo.

Kagome said nothing, but she wasn't happy. _'What the hell is he doing, helping us now? What nerve! After he betrayed us like that… does he think of this as a repayment? Does he think we'll forget about what he did after this?'_

Inuyasha took out his sword, the Tessaiga, and transformed the small rusty sword into a huge blade capable of mass destruction.

Kagome was unsure of Inuyasha's intentions. _'Maybe he doesn't even want to help us at all. After what I saw at the village, I wouldn't be surprised if he was here just because he felt like spilling blood.'_

"Adamant Barrage!" shouted Inuyasha. Diamonds formed on the Tessaiga and were released, hitting the demon. The serpent demon's tough skin protected it from being substantially harmed, but it growled in irritation.

'_I still wonder what that whole thing with Kikyo was about… when we heard her screaming…' _Kagome thought.

Inuyasha and the serpent demon continued to fight, but the battle didn't last very long. Inuyasha ran up to the demon, jumped up, and used Tessaiga to cut it in half.

Kagome just stood there and watched as the demon was destroyed, thanks to Inuyasha. It really annoyed her, how he had helped them…

Without saying anything to anyone, Inuyasha ran to the remains of Kirara. He sadly looked down at what was left of her. He knelt down and started putting the pieces of Kirara together. Then, he took out his Shikon jewel shards from his sleeve and used their power to mend Kirara's body.

The fire demon cat was still dead, but her body was now intact. Inuyasha picked up the dead body and started walking away, silently. Nobody said anything. Eventually, Inuyasha broke into a run, heading off into an unknown location.

The group stared after Inuyasha as he ran. When he was out of sight, Sango fell to her knees and started sobbing because of Kirara's death. Kagome looked down sadly and was still pondering what Inuyasha's intentions were. Miroku was curious as to what Inuyasha planned to do with Kirara's body.

Bakura just wondered what the hell was going on. _'Is Inuyasha the bad guy or the good guy? I can't really tell at this point.'_

Kagome was confused as well. _'Why did he bother helping us? He's cold enough to destroy a whole village for Kikyo! But what was that scream we heard before…? Did Inuyasha do something to her…?'_

She still wouldn't trust Inuyasha just because he helped them. Not after what he did to countless villagers…

What was going on with him, anyway…? Even if for Kikyo, he normally never attacked humans…

'_And is it just me, or did I see tear stains on his face when he came to save us just now?'_

So many questions and no answers…

~.~.~

_'Why did I destroy the village just because Kikyo told me to? Was that rambling about darkness being born out of hatred true? Had it really spread from_ _Kikyo to me?' _Inuyasha wondered as he continued to run. He was still holding Kirara's body.

_'Kagome doesn't trust me...' _He frowned. _'She never will... If I confess that I have feelings for her now, she will only reject me.'_

His ears drooped, and he was on the verge of crying again. _'They don't trust me... they... already replaced me… with a human... not that I have anything against humans... but... all I am... all I am... all I am is a worthless hanyou who betrayed his only friends in the world.'_

Inuyasha took a sharp turn and headed towards the direction of the Western Lands.

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**It doesn't take a lot of effort to review! But it does make me feel good and inspires me to continue. I would appreciate it if you did!**


	4. Mixed Feelings

**Parting Ways**

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**_Chapter 4: Mixed Feelings  
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"Open the damn gate, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha shouted, having arrived at a castle in the Western Lands.

"I'm right here..." said a cold voice. Inuyasha turned around to see Sesshomaru, a full demon and his half-brother.

"Use Tenseiga and revive my friend here!" Inuyasha demanded, showing Sesshomaru the body of Kirara.

"And what if I said no? What good would it do me? Helping my worthless half-breed brother?" replied Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha was not in the mood to discuss this matter. "Revive Kirara or I will slice your head off!"

"Did I hit a nerve? It's just a worthless cat. And where… are the rest of your companions?" asked Sesshomaru. If you looked carefully, you could see him smirking ever so slightly.

The last question hit Inuyasha like a million bricks. "They…"

"Suddenly quiet are we? So tell me... what happened? And why do you want to revive… this thing?" questioned Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha growled. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

Sesshomaru dodged Inuyasha's attack effortlessly. "Is that all you're capable of?"

Inuyasha put Kirara's body on the ground pierced his own hand with his claws in order to draw blood for his next attack. "Blades of Blood!"

Sesshomaru dodged the attack with as much ease as the first time. "You're unable to use Tessaiga because you have no human to protect. You're useless without it, I see…"

"I… may be only half demon… but I can still kick your sorry hide!" yelled Inuyasha.

"Hmm... then come at me," said Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha lunged at him and Sesshomaru used his arm to pierce Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha coughed as blood came out of his mouth.

Sesshomaru stood motionless as Inuyasha suffered. "Pathetic…"

Inuyasha said nothing, but he started to growl.

"You're capable of nothing," said Sesshomaru. "Being half demon isn't nearly enough to defeat me. You wanted me to revive the cat so bad… but you can't even take care of yourself."

Inuyasha said nothing. Dark energy began to form in the air around him. Sesshomaru's eyes slightly widened. There was now a dark aura around Inuyasha as the dark energy seeped into his claws.

Inuyasha grabbed Sesshomaru's arm, which was still in his chest.

"Nowhere to run…" he whispered.

Sesshomaru gasped.

"Dark Iron Reaver!"

Sesshomaru was unable to react as waves of dark energy hit him and he was knocked back. He never faced such power before. He actually struggled to get up from where he landed. Injured severely, Sesshomaru was lucky that he survived such a powerful attack.

And if you think about it, Inuyasha was lucky too. The attack consumed all of his energy and he could barely stand. Not to mention, he still suffered from the wound Sesshomaru gave him.

Sesshomaru may have been injured, but unlike Inuyasha he still had energy. He drew his sword and pointed it at Inuyasha. "It's time to finish you off... for good. I don't know what you just did, but I'm not going to let you live. Who knows what you might do with such darkness."

Those words hurt Inuyasha, because unknown to Sesshomaru, he had destroyed the very village he stayed at because of that darkness. But right now, that wasn't what mattered. "You will revive Kirara..."

Sesshomaru almost laughed at the demand. Inuyasha was in no condition to tell him what to do. Sesshomaru might have been more injured that Inuyasha was, but Inuyasha had no energy to do anything to him. This gave Sesshomaru the advantage. "I won't... but I will kindly kill you now."

Inuyasha smirked. He didn't come here without a back-up plan. "Not if you want _her _to die."

That was when Sesshomaru's eyes widened. Inuyasha had grabbed Rin, the little human girl who usually accompanied Sesshomaru, who happened to walk into the area curious as to what was going on after hearing the noise. The girl had tears in her eyes as she struggled.

"Rin!" yelled Sesshomaru. "Put her down, now!"

"Concerned, are we? About a human, no less…" remarked Inuyasha. "If you don't want her getting hurt than I guess you should revive my companion like I asked you to."

Sesshomaru growled at the fact that Inuyasha had left him no choice. He didn't like it when someone else had control over him. "I will do as you say…"

Sesshomaru walked over to Kirara's body and revived the cat by slicing the air over her with one of his swords, the Tenseiga. Slowly, Kirara's eyes opened and her eyes winced with pain. Her body had been ripped into shreds after all, and the only things keeping it together were jewel shards.

~.~.~

"Good job Rin. I didn't know you were such a great actor," said a smiling Inuyasha.

Before his encounter with Sesshomaru, he had found her playing outside the gate with Jaken, though the small demon didn't like the idea of wasting his time with a little human girl. Inuyasha asked Rin if he could speak with her and Jaken was unable to argue seeing as he was too weak to stop Inuyasha.

Rin smiled back at him. "Rin has done her best, and it all worked out. No problem. But you didn't have to grab me so hard."

Inuyasha chuckled at the complaint. "I'm sorry."

~.~.~

Things were silent as camp was set up. Kagome was deep in thought as she sat against a tree while leaning on a sleeping Bakura. Kagome knew she indeed had developed feelings for the human during the few days he was a part of the team. He cared for her and would never do anything to betray her…

Eventually, Sango spoke. "Kagome... you have not been yourself lately."

Kagome couldn't stop herself from bursting out, "Don't tell me you trust Inuyasha!"

Sango was taken aback at the outburst but regained her composure. "Um... you may not like it, but, I think… I think I do."

"Why?" shouted Kagome.

Sango hesitated a bit before speaking. She knew how Kagome could get when she was mad at Inuyasha. "Because... well, I don't think he's actually evil."

"He destroyed-"

She quieted down so that Bakura and Shippo wouldn't wake up.

"...the whole village!" she whispered.

Miroku piped in. "Well, he certainly wasn't being himself but surely he is sane again, from what I saw."

"I don't think so! He killed innocent people! He can't be trusted, just let him go off with Kikyo!" yelled Kagome.

Miroku pondered things for a moment. "Well Kagome, we all heard Kikyo's scream and Inuyasha's yell, and I think it is a reasonable conclusion that he attacked her for some reason."

Kagome continued to yell, no longer caring if Shippo or Bakura woke up. "It doesn't make any sense! There is no reason for him to want to kill Kikyo! There must be some misunderstanding here!"

Sango sighed. Kagome no longer loved Inuyasha. She hated him. It felt like the world had split in half, because that surely shouldn't have happened.

She wondered if Inuyasha had attacked Kikyo because he had figured out his feelings for Kagome, but now just fears rejection. _'I don't blame him. Chance of rejection is pretty high...'_

Miroku was thinking very similar thoughts.

~.~.~

"Let's go Kirara." It had taken a long time, but Inuyasha had slowly worked on removing the jewel shards from Kirara's body and letting her body heal naturally. He wasn't sure if it would work out, but to his relief, it did. Now the jewel shards were in his possession and Kirara was alive.

He picked up Kirara and put her on his shoulder. He decided that he would pay a visit to the village he had destroyed. _'Just how much damage did I do…?'_

They had traveled a considerable amount before Inuyasha caught on to a familiar scent. It was Shippo, and he was headed in Inuyasha's direction.

Soon enough, Shippo indeed showed up. He looked around for a bit and then he saw Inuyasha. "There you are, Inuyasha! I knew you were coming this way."

"What is it Shippo?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed. "I'm guessing that you were coming to warn me that the others are that way. I can smell them. I'll just take a different path to where I'm headed."

Shippo didn't respond to that but his eyes widened when he saw Kirara on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Kirara!"

The cat demon merely mewed in response.

Inuyasha smiled. "Are you glad to see her alive and well?"

Shippo looked at Inuyasha. "How is she alive…?"

Inuyasha sighed as he realized he would have to explain everything. "Okay, so, I mended her body by using the jewel shards I have. They connected the remains of her body so that it was intact. Of course, that wouldn't bring her back to life. So I went over to Sesshomaru and forced him to revive her. Slowly, I got the shards out of Kirara's body and then her body healed naturally."

Shippo nodded as he took this information in. Then, he suddenly started crying. Inuyasha was taken aback.

"Wha… What's wrong, Shippo?" he asked.

"Inuyasha," Shippo said shakily, "I thought… I thought you became evil… I thought you were… were our enemy… I was afraid…"

Inuyasha patted his head. "I made a mistake, Shippo. No, I think it was some outside influence, now that I think about it." Inuyasha stopped to think about the whole 'darkness' thing that had been going on. "Anyway, I'm back to my senses."

Shippo nodded, tears still trailing down his face. "What… what happened to Kikyo?"

"She's gone. I got rid of her," Inuyasha stated.

Shippo's eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

"She should have been gone a long time ago. She tried bringing me with her into hell, and… I decided to put her to rest. As for why she commanded me to destroy the village, it was because of the darkness formed by hatred of Kagome. And the darkness spread to me and clouded my thoughts, as well…"

Shippo's eyes were wide as he took this in.

Inuyasha sighed. "I sometimes wonder if it really was darkness formed by hatred of Kagome though. I feel like there is some outside source involved, because… this darkness poured into me and I can utilize it for a new attack I have…"

Shippo thought this over.

"Shippo," said Inuyasha. "Come to the destroyed village tomorrow. Tell the others to come as well. Actually… just tell Sango and Miroku."

Inuyasha didn't feel like dealing with Kagome, or that new human friend of hers. He didn't like something about him.

Shippo nodded. "Okay, Inuyasha. I hope they'll understand things and forgive you eventually…"

"Me too, Shippo…"

~.~.~

"Psst... Sango!" said Shippo, now back at where they set up camp.

"What is it…? I'm sleeping… Well, I'm trying to sleep..." muttered Sango.

"Come to the village with Miroku tomorrow," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just do it."

"Okay, Shippo..."

~.~.~

"Miroku let's go..." started Sango, but she was cut off by feeling Miroku's hand in a place it shouldn't be.

A slap echoed throughout the area.

"Hentai! Keep your hands off me! Let's go now!" she yelled. Surprisingly, Kagome and Bakura were still asleep.

"I couldn't help it dear Sango. Now, to the village we go!" said Miroku.

When they finally reached the destroyed village, they saw a heart-warming scene. Inuyasha was playing with Shippo, village children, and, to their surprise, Kirara while some men were working on rebuilding the village.

"Kirara!" Sango whispered in shock.

"Inuyasha must have gone to Sesshomaru's castle to revive her…" said Miroku. "That must have taken some effort, getting his brother to agree…"

Sango was filled with much joy at seeing her companion alive. But in that joy, she felt pity for Kagome... then a small hatred for Inuyasha, despite the fact that he had revived Kirara. Kagome was completely changed after what he did. He did revive Kirara, though…

Miroku was deep in thought. _'Inuyasha is so busy playing… he didn't hear us approach. So he's good after all? Then... what of the destroyed village? He was the one who did it. But he revived Kirara and she and Shippo seem to trust him. But Kagome doesn't trust Inuyasha at all... What a mess...'  
_

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**Did you like it? Please review and let me know what you think. Things will get interesting soon.**


	5. Reconnection

**Parting Ways**

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**_Chapter 5: Reconnection_

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"You can't catch me you can't catch me!" sang one of the children. He was a young boy.

"Wanna bet?" asked Inuyasha. Suddenly, children started pulling on Inuyasha's hair. "Ouch!"

"You have shiny and cool hair." they said. Inuyasha grinned, cutting small pieces of his hair with his claws and giving them to the children. They played with the strands. Out of nowhere, Inuyasha grabbed the boy who was chanting earlier.

"Caught ya!" Inuyasha said smirking.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and Sango jumped put. "Inuyasha! Because of you, Kagome is all upset!"

She ran with Hiraikotsu and tried to hit Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged all the blows. Miroku came out, only to be chased by an out of control Sango. Soon all the children, Shippo, Kirara, Miroku, and Inuyasha were running away in fright.

~.~.~

"Hmm? Where's Sango and Miroku? And Shippo?" Kagome murmured as she woke up. _'Bakura's still asleep. Hey what's that glow?'_

Curious, Kagome got up and walked up to a hole in a tree in which a blue glow was coming from. She saw something in there. She yanked it out; it was a sapphire pendant. Suddenly, it glowed brighter than before. Kagome heard Bakura yell behind her. She turned around, tucking the pendant in her pocket.

There were many dog demons in the area. Bakura was fighting them off with his sword. Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows.

_'I thought these creatures were no longer in existence!'_

~.~.~

Inuyasha and the others were hiding.

"Sango is crazy." Inuyasha said.

"Hey Inuyasha." Miroku said.

Inuyasha turned and stiffened, noticing Miroku right beside him. Miroku laughed.

"Don't you worry Inuyasha, because... AH! SANGO'S COMING!"

They all started running again. Inuyasha picked up Shippo and threw him at Sango. Shippo turned into a balloon and eventually caught up with the rest of the group. He transformed back.

~.~.~

The demons kept slashing with their sharp claws. Sometimes they bit. Kagome struck one down, but because of her wounds she eventually lost consciousness. The last thing she saw was a flash of blue light coming from her pocket.

~.~.~

"She's coming this way!"

"Ahh!"

"Run and hide!"

"Feh! I can't keep this up much longer!"

"The lady can't catch me the lady can't catch me!"

Finally they were in a good hiding spot. "Phew."

Miroku decided to talk with Inuyasha. "Hey."

"Hi." Inuyasha replied.

"What's up?" Miroku continued.

"Nothing much, and you?"

"Nothing much..."

"Oh, okay."

Miroku was shocked at how polite Inuyasha was being. He changed a lot, maybe to make a good impression. Inuyasha just looked up at the sky. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Just to let you know... I'm on your side. Don't you worry, I trust you. Sango does as well, although she's currently letting emotions get the better of her."

Inuyasha smiled. "Thank you Miroku."

Sango jumped out. And started to try and hit Inuyasha. Inuyasha kept dodging. Then he ducked one blow. He sidestepped, jumped, and flipped. Then he ran away, the others following him.

They tripped, and were now rolling down a hill. They landed in a huge clearing. Inuyasha turned to face Sango. She caught up and stood in a battle stance. Inuyasha just stood there casually…

_'Miroku is on my side... now it's time for Sango...'_

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**Sorry it was so short. This was like a quick update to let you all know I'm still here. Hey, I'll put more effort in if you all review more. :P Next chapter will be out hopefully soon.  
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	6. Inu no Taisho

**Parting Ways**

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**_Chapter 6: Inu no Taisho  
_**

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Inuyasha looked at the kids, who were watching the scene before them with interest. "Hey runts, your commander is in trouble. Show your true fighting spirit and help me out."

They looked at each other before marching forth like soldiers. They then stood in front of Inuyasha and stared at Sango.

Sango couldn't help it. She started laughing at the cuteness of the kids in front of her.

"Eh… it's not that much his fault that Kagome is being this way," she said to herself.

"Fine," she declared. "I'm sorry, I lost control of myself."

"You could say that again!" said Inuyasha.

~.~.~

Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She looked at her surroundings. The dog demons were gone. Bakura lay unconscious on the ground on his stomach. He had many wounds, for he was weak against the demons.

_'He's a great warrior, but dog demons are powerful. He is no match for them. Wait, why am I just sitting around? I have to help him!' _Then she remembered the blue flash she saw before she lost her consciousness.

Kagome looked by her feet, recognizing a similar blue glow. It was that blue pendant she found earlier. She lifted it and stared at it. In the pendant an image began to form, showing a large man with silver hair and amber eyes. He looked like an older version of Sesshomaru.

Kagome suddenly realized that she was looking at the father of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, the Inu no Taisho.

To her surprise, the man spoke. "I am the Inu no Taisho, but you may call me Inutaisho. Since you were able to find this pendant… are you a priestess? You must help my son… "

Kagome looked him in confusion. "Yes, I'm a priestess. How are you inside a pendant? I thought you were dead."

"This pendant belonged to my wife. Right before I took part in the battle that supposedly ended my life, she gave it to me so I would remember her while I was gone. Before I died, I put my soul into it using an ancient technique developed by priestesses. Because the technique was made by priestesses, only priestesses can reawaken me."

Kagome stared at the pendant in amazement. "Wow… so you never actually died. Wait, you asked me to help your son. Your only sons are Inuyasha and Sesshomaru right? Why does one of them need help? Oh… and was it you that saved me from the dog demons?"

"Aye, I was the you saved you from the dog demons. To them, my word is law. They appeared in response to me being reawakened and attacked because they thought you were an enemy in my territory. Anyway, the son I speak of is Inuyasha. His spirit lies in great depression and hurt. He is nowhere near himself. He is however kind to everyone around him. He has befriended the children of the nearby village, as it is being rebuilt. He shows some sign of his usual arrogance, but to those who he has befriended or that are his true enemies. He is kind to any passerby. The village is not afraid of him even though he was the one who destroyed it. He is the friend of everyone, yet deep inside of his self... He is nothing but misery to himself. He needs something. Someone to be beside him when he needs it. No one can explain how horrible he feels. He... I can't explain it."

Kagome's eyes widened with shock at was she was hearing. "How… how do you know all this?"

Inutaisho gave her a small smile. "He is my son. My soul is connected with his. Let me… connect you to him."

There was a bright blue flash and Kagome felt herself being pulled into the pendant. She was floating in an empty blue space staring at an image in front of her. She could see Inuyasha chatting with Miroku and Sango. Some children came over to them.

"Inuyasha-san, play with us!" they chanted.

Inuyasha smiled. Miroku and Sango looked at each other. It was weird how the children wanted to play with Inuyasha when he destroyed their village. And they only wanted to play with Inuyasha, ignoring the presence of the monk and demon slayer.

Kagome found it weird too.

One the boys whispered to Inuyasha, "Hey, Inuyasha-san, can I speak to you in private?"

Inuyasha nodded his head. He told the others to wait a moment. He followed the kid into a clearing.

Kagome couldn't view what the others were doing because the image in front of her was focusing on Inuyasha. She had no choice to view the conversation.

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was acting sort of strange. The boy was trying to get his attention, but Inuyasha was staring at the now starry sky, deep in thought.

"INUYASHA-SAN!" yelled the boy.

Inuyasha instantly snapped out of it and looked at him "Yeah?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You were staring at the sky."

Inuyasha sighed. "Sorry, just thinking."

"About what?"

"Someone."

"Who?"

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Inuyasha asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah. Um... there's this... girl..." he began.

"That you have a crush on? I can help you." Inuyasha interrupted.

"You can? Wait how did- nevermind."

"Well, if you like this girl..."

Kagome watched as Inuyasha explained how to approach the girl, how to tolerate the girl at times, how to keep her happy, and other stuff Kagome would have never thought Inuyasha would know about. _'Since when...'_

"Inuyasha's inner pain has made him realize things he never realized before. He understands a lot more about emotions such as love and pain. He…"

Inutaisho suddenly cut himself off and quickly pushed Kagome back into reality. Bakura was beginning to wake up now and it would be strange for him to see his companion in a trance-like state while her mind was in the pendant's realm.

Bakura got up and yawned as Kagome looked at her surroundings, noticing that she was no longer in the pendant. Bakura saw the something glowing blue in Kagome's hands and approached her. "What are you holding?"

He took a glance at the pendant and saw the image of Inuyasha talking to the boy. "What magic is this?"

Inutaisho's face suddenly replaced the image, staring at Bakura seriously. "Boy, you hide something."

Bakura looked confused. "What?"

Inutaisho shook his head. "Leave it be. Priestess, will you meet Inuyasha? He needs someone to help him in his time of pain…"

Kagome hesitated. "Um... I-I can't... because... something happened and..."

"Very well… perhaps now that I have awakened, I will be able to leave this pendant and visit him myself." He closed his eyes and with a flash of blue, Inutaisho was now in front of Kagome and Bakura, and the pendant once again showed the image of Inuyasha and the boy.

Without saying any words, Inutaisho ran towards the direction of the village.

After a few minutes, Kagome and Bakura saw him in the image the pendant was showing.

~.~.~

"Inuyasha." said Inutaisho, standing behind Inuyasha.

Upon hearing the deep voice, Inuyasha turned around, and his eyes widened in shock. "You're… no… you can't be…"

"Yes, Inuyasha… I am your father. I will explain things later. But I sense the distress in your soul and wish to know… what is wrong? You are not yourself. What has happened?"

Inuyasha was still very surprised, but he decided that he would just hear the explanation later. Right now, he was being asked a serious question. Hanging his head, he started to speak. "Father... someone close to me… can never be with me... it is hard to explain."

"I see…" said Inutaisho. "Inuyasha, such hardships are bound to happen. Your mother and I…"

~.~.~

Slowly, Bakura started to feel hate for the half-demon known as Inuyasha. He didn't want Inuyasha to get any attention. Inuyasha had hurt Kagome emotionally. This was unforgiveable. Inuyasha deserved to die.

Inutaisho wanted to help Inuyasha. Therefore, Bakura had to get rid of Inutaisho as well.

So while Kagome watched the scene unfold using the magical pendant, he searched through her bag and grabbed her jewel shards.

From his pocket… he took out a large quantity of jewel shards that he had secretly possessed before he had even met Kagome. Their aura was masked so Kagome could not sense them. _'I love how I said I'd help them find jewel shards when the rest of them were with me all along! Of course, my goal was the beauty that is Kagome…'_

If Kagome were to look at Bakura right now, she would have been shocked at the creepy grin on his face.

'_Getting these jewel shards was a breeze. Stealing them from that half-demon, Naraku, was simply way too easy. I had no real use for them until now… but now with Kagome's shards, I can use the jewel's power to ensure that she remains mine. Inuyasha, Inutaisho… I will remove those obstacles!'_

A dark energy formed in Bakura's hand and the jewel shards began to mend together. When finished with the mending, he took a good look at the jewel. It was almost whole.

'_That bastard Inuyasha has the rest of the shards. No matter… the jewel is still powerful in this state and I'll get those shards after I kill him. Now… I will take action…'_

Kagome continued to watch the image that was being shown in the pendant. However, her eyes widened as she saw black waves of energy begin to form in the area.

The little boy that was with Inutaisho and Inuyasha ran away as soon as he saw them.

~.~.~

"Miroku..."

"I sense something too..."

"Let's hope everyone is okay…"

~.~.~

"Inuyasha watch out!"

Inuyasha took out his Tessaiga…

~.~.~

Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. "Inuyasha!"

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**Sorry, I planned on updating sooner, but I was busy. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Things are building up. Please leave a review on your way out!**


	7. Bakura's Secret

**Parting Ways**

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_Chapter 7: Bakura's Secret_

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The large black waves of energy rushed towards Inuyasha and surrounded him. As the dark energy closed in on him, Inuyasha tried slashing at it with his Tessaiga. However, he failed to accomplish anything by doing so, and eventually he was swallowed by the darkness. The energy settled and became a sphere prison in which Inuyasha was trapped.

"Inuyasha!" Inutaisho yelled as he attacked the dark prison. He was immediately thrown back as soon as he came in contact with the evil energy. "What is this dark magic?"

He repeated his attacking, but the great Inutaisho was unable to break his son free.

~.~.~

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out in concern. Whatever hate she had been feeling for the half-demon seemed to melt away as this unknown enemy put him in danger. "Bakura, we have to go help him!"

When she heard no reply, Kagome turned around. Bakura was nowhere to be seen. _'Where did he go at a time like this?'_

Kagome sighed in frustration. _'What can I do? I have no idea who this enemy is and if Inuyasha is unable to break free how can I help? I'm too weak. Even his father can't break that prison thing.'_

Her eyes widened. _'Am I caring about him again? After what he did?'_

She wanted to smack herself, but not because she was caring about him again._ 'If I care, I shouldn't be sitting here confused! I have to try my best to help!'_

She began running in the direction of the village. _'It seems I can never stay mad at you, Inuyasha… As soon as you're in danger, I'm worried.'_

_~.~.~_

'_It's funny how clueless people can be,'_ thought Bakura as he walked through the woods. _'They have no idea that I am the cause of this dark energy. And they have no idea how to stop it—because they can't. Unless they become one with the darkness, that is.'_

He glanced at the incomplete jewel in his hand. "Almost there…"

'_Kagome will be mine. No one will be in my way.'_

"Hey you!" said an unfamiliar voice.

Bakura looked up at the person who spoke to him. "A wolf demon? What do you want?"

"The name is Koga," the wolf demon replied. "I was on my way here to see my lovely Kagome when I saw you walking by with an almost complete Shikon jewel in your hand. I know Kagome had a lot of those shards… What did you do to her?"

"Your lovely Kagome? As far as I know, she isn't in a relationship," replied Bakura.

Koga growled, not liking Bakura's familiarity with Kagome. "Oh yeah, and how much do you know exactly? And how did you get all those shards if Naraku had most of them?"

"Getting these shards from Naraku was a piece of cake," said Bakura. "He can try and take them back but I'll just kill him. I may be human, but I'm not someone you want to underestimate." He grinned. "My name is Bakura, and I am a close friend of Kagome's."

"Don't make me laugh! I don't know what your business with Naraku was but at this moment I don't really care. There is no way that someone like you could make friends with someone as sincere as Kagome, and there is no way that'd she give you all the jewel shards!" yelled Koga.

Bakura smirked. "I stole them from her."

Koga lunged at Bakura. "Why you—"

Bakura grabbed Koga by the neck before the wolf demon could hurt him. "I wouldn't attempt to attack someone with an almost complete Shikon jewel if I were you. Now listen, wolf. I don't care what you have to say, but the lovely Kagome isn't yours. She's mine. And I will kill you if you get in my way."

Koga's eyes narrowed. "It's on."

He kicked Bakura in the face, breaking free from his grasp. He then threw a punch at him. Bakura dodged the attack smoothly and punched Koga in the stomach. Koga fell to the ground in pain.

Bakura laughed. "Is that all you've got?"

Koga growled. "You're just a human! How are you able to manipulate the power of the Shikon jewel like that?"

"Let's just say that I'm no ordinary human," said Bakura. "Are you going to back down?"

"As if I would let Kagome fall into your hands!" yelled Koga. He stood up and jumped back. "If you're a human that can fight with the strength of the demon… then I guess I'll just have to kill you as if you _were_ a demon. With no mercy!"

~.~.~

Miroku was sensing something very ominous, and he was worried about Inuyasha. Knowing the half-demon, he probably got into some kind of trouble. _'Maybe it's Naraku? But it feels different.'_

He glanced at Sango. "Hey Sango, could you look after the children? I'll be right back." Sango nodded and Miroku ran off in the direction of the evil he was detecting.

'_Things finally seemed like they were going to start getting peaceful again. But things never go our way, apparently,' _thought Miroku while he was running.

In the distance he could see black waves of energy moving around in the air.

Inuyasha was trying to call out to his father. But the words that came out of his mouth seemed to get lost somewhere in the darkness, never reaching Inutaisho. _'Damn! What am I supposed to do? Tessaiga won't break through!'_

He tried just about everything, but none of his attacks would break the dark prison he was trapped in. It annoyed him greatly. He had just met his father too, and couldn't finish a conversation with him before they were separated again.

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became. On top of that, he started thinking about Kagome again. _'Nothing can go my way, can it? Am I not allowed to have people that I can be close to? That's probably what I get for being a half-breed…'_

It seemed that he was stuck here with these depressing thoughts. And there was nothing he could do about it.

So he just stood with his head hanging. _'How pathetic must I look right now? Although nobody can see me, it's embarrassing. I need to think more clearly…'_

~.~.~

Kagome finally reached the village. Breathing heavily, she looked around swiftly. It wasn't long before she caught sight of Sango playing with village children and Shippo. "Sango!"

Sango heard her and immediately looked her way. "Kagome! What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha… he's in trouble! I don't know what's happening exactly but I need to know where he is!" replied Kagome.

Sango nodded. "I had a feeling something was up… let's go. Shippo, look after the children."

The young fox demon nodded his head as Sango and Kagome began running in the same direction Miroku had headed a few moments ago.

~.~.~

"Inuyasha!" yelled Miroku as he reached his destination, avoiding the waves of dark energy that were flying everywhere. Instead of Inuyasha, he saw before him a big man standing beside a large black sphere. The man was obviously demon and he looked like a larger version of Sesshomaru. "You're…"

The man looked at him. "I am Inuyasha's father. But now is not the time, boy. He needs help, and I do not know how to free him."

Miroku glanced at the dark sphere beside Inutaisho. "He's… he's in there?"

Inutaisho nodded. Miroku continued to stare at the sphere, trying to think of a way to free his companion. _'Unfortunately, I am not familiar at all with this black energy and if Inuyasha's father cannot break it then it must be incredibly strong…'_

Inutaisho sighed. "Be strong, Inuyasha."

~.~.~

Koga yelled out in pain as he collided with a tree. He cursed, finding himself barely able to move. _'This guy… what is he?'_

"You look like you don't have much fight left in you," said Bakura. "Now that we've finished here, I guess I'll be on my way."

"Damn you, bastard!" yelled Koga as he struggled to get up.

Bakura smirked. "Don't waste your energy. You're lucky I chose not to kill you."

"I'd rather be killed by a half-breed than lose to some human…" Koga said as he finally stood up. "As pathetic as they are, at least they have demonic blood in them. Humans? To be brought down by a human is worse than death!"

Bakura was slightly amused. "I take it then that you still want to fight? I almost want you to stay alive. You're too amusing."

"I will not allow a human to look down on me!" yelled Koga. "Stop acting all high and mighty because you managed to knock me down. I'm far from done."

Bakura laughed. "You really hate the idea of losing to a human. Perhaps I should tell you, then, why I am different from other humans."

Koga said nothing, but leaned against the tree behind him, waiting for Bakura to continue.

"That would take up too much time, however," said Bakura. "But I don't want you to feel bad about losing to a human, so… how about I show you instead?"

"What are you talking about?" Koga asked irritably.

Bakura smirked as dark energy erupted from the ground and surrounded him. His black hair became a deep purple color and he began to levitate. "This is what makes me different from other humans!"

"How is _that_ human?" yelled Koga as he was pushed into the tree behind him due to the overwhelming amount of energy.

"I'll admit that these powers aren't my own," said Bakura, as the surge of energy died down. He was floating a few feet above the ground, playing with his new purple hair. "I am a human. But I've been cursed; within me sleeps pure darkness."

Before Koga could say another word, Bakura teleported to his side and knocked him unconscious.

"I feel like killing you now, but Inuyasha will be my first victim."

Leaving Koga on the ground, he vanished.

'_Here I come, Inuyasha. Get ready to die.'_


End file.
